How to Fully Comply with the Latest FDA Traceability Rules
/In September 2020, the FDA unveiled the FSMA Proposed Rule for Food Traceability. This document serves to standardize traceability practices for high risk products in the food and beverage industry. The FDA’s proposed traceability requirements are complex, so here we simplify how your food and beverage company can fully comply with these latest regulations.
The Foods Listed in the Food Traceability List
The Food Traceability List (FTL) comprises 16 foods, these are:
Cheeses, crustaceans, cucumbers, fin fish, fresh herbs, fresh cut fruit and vegetables, leafy greens, melons, mollusks, nut butters, ready to eat deli salads, shell eggs, sprouts, tomatoes and tropical tree fruits.
The above 16 foods are prone to microbiological and chemical hazards, hence they face stricter traceability rules.
Using Traceability Software to Help You
The two pillars of the FDA rule are Key Data Elements (KDE) and Critical Tracking Events (CTE). A comprehensive list of KDEs has been presented by the FDA. KDEs call for the collection and communication of important traceability data, and this is best achieved via the use of traceability software. A ‘farm to fork’ traceability solution is the means by which food and beverage manufacturers can manage their traceability responsibilities in a bullet proof way. Software is a true helping hand; guiding staff through the FDA processes and standards and ensuring full compliance at all times.
Your Record Keeping Responsibilities
The FDA have become increasingly concerned about food borne illness outbreaks. And this has been the impetus for their push to synchronize traceability practices across the whole industry. They hope to make the tracing of the source of contaminated products a much easier and more accurate process. In a bid to achieve this goal the FDA have prescribed strict record keeping rules. These are:
Traceability lot codes: You must develop traceability lot codes.
All shipped FTL foods: You should maintain a list that includes a description of all FTL foods shipped.
Reference Records: You should have a description of traceability reference records and how different information is linked, e.g. purchase orders.
Frustratingly for food and beverage manufacturers, the above rules result in vast amounts of data, which can be incredibly challenging to manage and present. Many companies find managing these rules via spreadsheets to be a challenging task. Traceability software can manage all traceability information for you, with specified date ranges and across all foods in question.
The FDA Timeline
The FDA has proposed a compliance date of two years, which means the pressure is on food and beverage manufacturers to respond promptly. For now, the comment period will be open until January 21, 2021.
Are you concerned about the impact of the new FDA Food Traceability Rules on your food and beverage business? If so, get in touch with Cashmere today to try a free demo of our complete farm to fork traceability solution. Let us help you.
